I´m a freelance graphics designer and my strong point is the “motion“. I love my work and when I have free time I enjoy doing personal projects and traveling. They are my true vices.
I’ve been to a lot of places in the world and when I return to Spain, I always promise myself that I need to study English. Not only do I need to speak English for travel, but sometimes I work with a Finnish client and communication is difficult for me. Last year I had a private teacher, but only just two hours per week, it is little time.
2012 didn’t start very well for me. I didn’t have a lot of work and the little I had wasn’t interesting. I was bored because I hate sitting around waiting for something to happen. I wanted to travel, learn English and know animation companies outside Spain. I thought of three places: Canada, England and New Zealand. England is very near to my country, I have been there before, and it’s filled with Spanish. I wanted something more interesting and finally I chose New Zealand.
After I made this decision, a friend of mine told me about Languages International. He studied Business English 10 years ago at this school. He’s recommended this school to others friends and everyone had a good experience. My friend loves to travel like me, and NZ is one of his favorite places in the world. Also, he said Kiwi people are friendly and that I can enjoy this city a lot.
My partner and I came here. Firstly we spent two weeks traveling around the South Island, we loved it. After the trip we arrived in Auckland and we
started the English course. My girlfriend had only two weeks then she went
back to Spain. When she left Auckland my English started to improve. I needed to meet people and practice all the time. I created a profile on a website to meet people interested in language exchange. Also, I put an ad in the Arts department of the university, and in my first weekend alone I met a Spanish teacher from the university and she helped me a lot.
On the other hand, I wanted to meet NZ companies and I wrote an email explaining who I am, what I do… My problem again was the language, but I was honest and said that my English was low but I was very interested in meeting them. My English teachers helped me a lot in the process and finally I had a meeting with a NZ company that they were interested in my work and they wanted to meet me.
Now, I’m sure that I made a very good decision coming here. I have enjoyed myself so much and now I don’t want to go back to my country. I recommend this experience to everyone. I think that I´ve been very lucky, with the school, with the teachers, with my kiwi friends, with my classmates and flatmates, but also I have to say that I have worked hard in finding this luck.
 Written by Diego Flores. Diego is a Languages International alumnus and a freelance graphic designer specialising in motion. You can see his work at www.diseccion.com and www.diseccion.tv. |
That's great, Diego. You've really understood that the key to successful language learning is taking every chance to communicate – and you're right, it's hard work. But fun too!
A great example of “the harder I work, the luckier I get” (Samuel Goldwyn, film producer).
Diego, that is the result of your commitment and hard work.
We miss you at school Diego, you were a great student. Clear proof that it's all about your attitude towards learning. Best of luck for finding lots of international clients! Hope your New Zealand contacts bring you back to this part of the world sometime in the future. Don't forget us when you're famous!
Hi Liz,
Thanks a lot for your comments. I miss everybody and my live in NZ. I´ve just started an English course in a famous Language School and It´s so different… I can´t understand why the methodology is so boring. I miss my school and my teachers.
Keep in touch.